Termites can eat away at your home and savings
Mary Lou Jay
You've probably seen the television ads that portray termites as human-sized bugs that try to talk their way through unsuspecting homeowners' front doors. Unfortunately, real termites aren't as visible when they invade your home, and the damage they do can go undetected for years. Worse yet, that damage is not covered by your home insurance.
Researchers at Texas A&M University report that termites cause billions of dollars in property damage each year. Unlike with wind and fire damage, however, you can't file a home insurance claim for termite destruction. Preventing termite damage is considered a maintenance issue and, therefore, the homeowner's responsibility. You'll have to pay for any treatment or repairs to your property out of your own pocket.
Termites live in every state except Alaska, according to the Texas A&M Department of Entomology, and feed on wood or any materials that contain cellulose, including paper, books and insulation.
Many homeowners discover that they have a termite infestation on their hands when they see the following warning signs, according to pest control company Orkin:
- Mud tunnels along the home's foundation.
- Damaged wood or wood that sounds hollow when tapped.
- Bubbling or cracked paint.
The most obvious clue is when winged termites swarm inside homes in the spring. Winged ants also swarm at this time, however. To determine the difference, look at their bodies. Ants have narrow waists and elbowed antennae, according to the University of Kentucky's Department of Agriculture, while termites have no waist indentation and straight antennae.
Termite treatment is best left to professionals, because these insects can be difficult to find and to eradicate. A one-time treatment may not eliminate termites from your home, so you may want to consider an ongoing contract or a guarantee that will cover additional treatments. One technique, termite baiting, involves treating a termite's preferred food source, like paper or cardboard, with a slow-acting poison in hopes that termites will take the food back to the colony, according to the University of Kentucky.
Because you can't get home insurance that covers termite damage, prevention is the best approach to protecting your home and pocketbook. According to Texas A&M, homeowners should:
- Eliminate moisture around the home's foundations with proper gutters and with soil that slopes away from the building.
- Reduce humid spaces within the home by making sure any crawl spaces are properly ventilated.
- Keep wood (including mulch) away from the home or other structures.
According to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), different species of termites live in different areas of the country. Most common are subterranean termites, which are found throughout the country. They live in underground burrows in huge numbers -- up to 2 million per colony -- and build earthen tunnels from the ground to reach a structure. Formosan termites, meanwhile, are relatively recent invaders from China. They're found primarily in southern states and in California. The NPMA calls them the most "voracious, aggressive and devious of over 2,000 termite species known to science."
